FREDDIE FLINTOFF is being wrapped in cotton wool by England bosses who are still scared to ask him to bowl on his dodgy ankle.

Despite being named in the 13-man squad for the second Test against the West Indies, along with a surprise recall for seamer Ryan Sidebottom, Flintoff has had to wait until today before being allowed to put his bowling boots on.

The 29-year-old will not make the final cut if he is unable to play a full bowling part in the Headingley match.

Despite him being due to face a fitness test on his ankle on Monday, the session was postponed in order to give it as much rest as possible.

Coach Peter Moores is desperate to see Flintoff the bowler back in the side, as a fast bowling crisis engulfs the England team, but he insists he will not turn out any player who is not 100 per cent fit.

James Anderson is the most likely replacement in the side for Friday, with Matthew Hoggard ruled out by his groin injury, but it is the recall of left-arm seamer Sidebottom that represents a shift away from Duncan Fletcher's insistence that pace is all that matters.

Michael Vaughan returns as skipper after his broken digit and will slot into the top order in place of the luckless Owais Shah.

Chairman of selectors David Graveney said: "Anderson and Sidebottom will provide us with different options."